Ray's Food and Walking Tours » Parks

Searching for Color in a New York Winter

Ray McGaughey — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:17:18 +0000

Torii Gate at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Outdoor photographers are confronted with the greatest challenges in winter. The difficult shooting conditions aside, there is so little color to capture, both on the streets and in nature. It’s always tempting to throw in the towel and put winter photos in black and white–an urge that’s sometimes spot-on. But vibrant color is that much more striking in the dead of winter. In this photo series, I experiment with no color, highlighted single colors and the closet things to color explosions I’ve been able to find this season.

Many of these photos were first published on my Instagram account: raysnyc

Eastern Parkway

A little snow is no excuse to stop recycling

The Lake in Prospect Park

A dog-walking fashion statement

The First Snow! – Eastern Parkway

Dusk in Prospect Park

Brooklyn’s majestic Grand Army Plaza in a blizzard

Gotta get the kids home!

Get your drones on! – Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Traveling Back in Time and Loving the View: The Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park

Ray McGaughey — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 14:10:06 +0000

One of the greatest things about New York is that the subways can turn into time machines–if you know where to go–seemingly whisking you away to an entirely different era. Easily accessible by public transportation, the Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park are a beautiful and serene part of the city where visitors can stroll through real medieval halls, view the pristine Hudson River as seen by the first European explorers and experience an unparalleled escape from the chaos of the city.

The Cloisters – a slice of Europe in Upper Manhattan

The nature of the Hudson River as seen by the eponymous explorer Henry Hudson himself in 1609

Located in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Inwood, the Cloisters houses the vast medieval art collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On display are extravagant tapestries, priceless stained glass windows and intricate stone carvings–flourishes that once adorned the walls of monks, knights and nobles. The building itself is made up of stones from five different European abbeys which were partially disassembled in the 1930s. Piece-by-piece, the structures were shipped to New York to be rebuilt and combined into a single building.

Arches incorporated form the French abbey Saint Michel de Cuxa

The Unicorn Defends Itself: In classic fashion, the humans in this tapestry find a unicorn and decide they need to kill it and take it home

Old sentinels in a new home

Fort Tryon Park, which surrounds the museum, stands on land donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr. The park was beautifully landscaped by the the sons of Central Park architect Fredrick Law Olmsted and offers magnificent views of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, and the New Jersey Palisades, also purchased and preserved by Rockefeller.

Walking around the grounds you’ll be charmed by rolling hills, vibrant flowers and New York City wildlife. The Heather and Alpine Gardens offer two different walking paths for gorgeous year-round view.

The Heather Garden is part of the original Olmsted Brothers design for the park.

Excellent opportunities for nature photography…

With luck, you might see a rare sight, a real New York groundhog!

Whether you’re a New York native or a visitor don’t miss this chance to go back in time…take the A train up to Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters!

The High Line in winter and spring – A photo essay

Ray McGaughey — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 01:19:34 +0000

In the past 6 months, I’ve had the pleasure of taking two visits to the High Line specifically to spend time with family and take photos. Right away, a visitor realizes how photo-friendly of a place it is. Modern art emerges from verdant gardens; original locomotive rails weave in and out of the pedestrian walkway—all with the distinct urban backdrop of the city. Here are a number of my favorite photos—watch as the season changes!

The Standard Hotel looks proudly down on the High Line.

Creepy looking guy…

My cousin Hannah checks out Tenth Avenue Square

Frank Gehry’s IAC building…playfully known as “the Iceberg.” In the background: Jean Nouvel’s geometrically-striking “100-11th” apartment building.

Squares and rectangles

Even in winter, splashes of color are to be found

High Line shoes

Chelsea

One of the few grassy lawns to be found in all of Manhattan

Busy as ever

Spring color splash

Central Park Rock Climbing

Ray McGaughey — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:16:41 +0000

Most of my friends know that a major passion of mine is rock climbing, but few are aware that my first outdoor climbing experiences took place right here in New York City. A small, but active climbing scene exists in Central Park, ideal for city-dwellers like myself who crave climbing close enough to access by subway. Last week, with temperatures in the mid-60s, I took my camera to the park in search of climbers emerging from their winter hibernation.

A boulderer with his crash pad and spotter at the northern tip of the park—110th St. and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.

The type of climbing practiced in Central Park is bouldering, meaning the climber uses no rope or gear and stays low to the ground. Often a crash pad is used to cushion falls or a spotter watches to ensure that the climber falls safely. Bouldering draws on the same sense of joy that kids experience when they scramble around rocky crags—getting to the top of even a relatively low rock can be challenging and surprisingly enjoyable.

[caption id=”attachment_319″ align=”aligncenter” width=”500″ caption=”A climber at “Rat Rock,